The Room
by DeathtoDiscord
Summary: Rin has been trapped in room for a long time. She knows what Scary Man is waiting for, he's waiting for her to tell her secret. But she'll never tell.


**_tHe RoOm._**

* * *

_I._

_Room is white, whiter than white. Room is big, big enough for Rin to run and run and never get tired. Sometimes I do it when I get bored after taking long sleep, and sometimes after story time. I spread my arms and run around and around, arms wide and going up and down like a bird. I know about birds because she told me about them, since I forgot. She is a really nice lady, the only one who comes and sees me in room. _

_Lady is pretty I think, with really black hair. Lady has red lips and sharp eyes. She is the one who gives me story time, even if she doesn't always want too and Lady is the one who gives me food and gives me bath. Bath is when you sit in tub of water that smells good, until it's time to get out. After that Lady makes me nice and dry with a big blanket. Next comes undies, then dress. Then Lady brushes my hair, long and brown until it shines. Sometimes Lady talks to me, but I don't think she's supposed too, not more than story time. Sometimes she starts to say stuff, but then her eyes move really fast to the black eye in the sky. The black eye is always watching room, she told me one time, and that's why she has to be careful and I have to be good. _

_I wish I could talk to Lady, to ask her what the black eye is looking for, but when I open my mouth words won't come out. Sometimes I really want to talk to Lady, sometimes not. I want to ask her about Room and what's outside Room, because I really want to know. I know I should remember, but it feels like I forgot. Whenever I try to talk my throat gets hot and squeezy and hurts so I stop. Sometimes Lady knows when I'm trying, my face squishes all funny and it feels like I can't breathe, and she tells me not to do it or else I'll get hurt. I'm not supposed to get hurt in room, that's why I'm there she says, room is to keep me safe. Room is to protect me. I don't know what for or why, because I don't think there's any place safer than room._

* * *

_II._

_Room is big enough for my bed, which is really soft and fluffy and comfy, so I can sleep and sleep and sleep. Room is big enough for my toys too, for big white dog, black bear, and grey cat. I like big white dog the most though, I hold him in my arms when I get sleepy on floor, and I'm too tired to make it to bed. Sometimes I like to nap in tub when Lady's not there, even if she keeps telling me tub is for washing not sleeping. I like tub better sometimes, its nice and cool in tub and sometimes I get really hot in bed. I think Lady wants me away from Tub because sometimes I like to play in toilet, or turn the water on in sink and watch it run and run. Lady frowns when she catches me doing that, she says I'm being 'mischievous' or a 'brat' which is bad. I want to tell her that I only run water when I get scared, and I only get scared when I realize how quiet it is when Lady leaves. Without Lady I am alone, and sometimes that scares me more than anything I can think of._

* * *

_III._

_Lady comes and goes. I only know time has passed because clock is on wall tick ticking and whenever clocks is tick ticking that means time is passing. Lady comes in when both hands are on 7, again when big hand is on 12 and little hand is on 6, and last when both hands are on 9. Every time Lady brings food. The first she may bring me bread with jam and eggs, a glass of orange juice and a cup of fruit. Orange juice tastes weird, but I like everything else. The second time she may bring a sandwich, some cookies, and more fruit. I only get extra cookies if I'm good, so I make sure not to mess up room. The last is the worst, chicken and veggies and other stuff. I don't like veggies I always eat those last. But Lady says I have to eat it all to stay healthy, which is important. Before I can eat though, we do exercises, with Lady watching to make sure I do them all. Then she puts in her ear thingy and puts the cold thing on my chest to listen to my heart. If my heart stops beating I'll die so Lady has to keep checking. She told me that one time when I was bad I tried to stop my heart from beating. I don't know why I would do that in room, but that's why Lady says black eye has to watch me, so I won't do it again. Then I open my mouth and wait as she puts the number stick under my tongue. After a minute it beeps, and then she nods her head carefully, writing everything down on clipboard. Sometimes she comes in with a bag, which means she is going to use needle. I don't like needle, but she gives me candy after if I'm good and don't jump when she puts it under my skin and pushes it in. I don't mind then, because the sweet makes the pain go away._

* * *

_IV._

_Sometimes Lady brings me paper, and things to draw with. Those days are the best, because sometimes Lady draws with me, even though she sighs and frowns when she does. Lady can't draw good, so i think that's why. She has pretty hands, so I think she fakes to make me feel better. Using the black and grey, I draw white dog, black bear, and grey cat. I like drawing white dog the best though, because he's my favorite. Lady always draws things like flowers and birds, and wind, things outside room that I don't know about. I want to ask her if there are more Lady's outside room because I can't remember, or if she is the only one. Sometimes I try to draw her, but I don't do a good job. It's not as pretty as Lady, so I give up real fast. She almost smiles at that, and uses her crayon to fix my drawing, adding more hair here, coloring her eyes bright and red. When Lady is like that, I can almost believe Lady likes me. Almost. _

_"We're the same you and I," Lady will say then, very rarely, in her pretty voice. Lady says it like she's almost sad. I'll look at her at that, but Lady's eyes are tight and angry again, and she doesn't say anything more._

* * *

_V._

_Sometimes when I sleep in bed, I dream. In my dream, I'm outside. I don't know how my mind knows what outside looks like, but it does. There is blue sky and tall grass, greener than green. The wind blows through my hair, the ground soft beneath my bare feet. I'm running through the grass, laughing. I can see him up ahead of me, won't ever forget. He has hair the color of the stars at night I think, whiter than white dog but grayer than grey cat, and longer than mine and Lady's put together. He doesn't stop but I know he is walking slowly, waiting for me to catch him. I laugh because I know he will wait for me. And then suddenly, I start to cry. I cry and cry until it seems like all of the water from faucet is pouring from my eyes._

_When I wake up, my bed is wet, my throat scratchy and dry. Sometimes I cry more, other times I hold white dog so tight I think he can't breathe. I don't dream often but when I do I dream of the man with the pretty hair, and how I can never catch him anymore. I dream of forever then._

* * *

_VI._

_I am coloring with Lady when I start to draw him._

_I draw his hair, longer than mine, whiter than white. He's prettier than Lady, but I draw his nose kind of crooked. A straight line for a mouth, close to a frown but not really. His bangs hide the moon, but I know it's there, I color it purple. I shakily put the red lines on his cheeks, add in the bright yellow eyes. He isn't as pretty as he is in my dream, but I know he will do. As I finish coloring his hair, Lady makes a funny sound in the back of her throat. I look up, to see Lady's eyes are wide, her mouth open. She jumps up so fast from the floor that scared, I do too, standing up and backing away. Lady snatches up the drawing, her hands shaking as she looks at it._

_"Rin!" She whispers harshly, suddenly, her voice so scary it scares me and I run to tub, grabbing white dog as I pass by. I can hear her as I sit in the bottom of it, scared and shaking.__** "Rin!"**__ She nearly screams, louder than I have ever heard, harsher than I have ever heard.__** "Do you remember him Rin? Do you remember him?!"**__ She runs into the room, eyes wide and breath ragged, biting her red lips hard enough to bleed.__**"Forget him Rin!"**__ She nearly roars, tearing my pretty picture into pieces. __**"You must forget him! You did not draw that picture you hear me?! Do you understand me you little brat?! If he ever finds you doing that kind of shit-!"**__Lady stops, so angry that she can't speak, her hand raised as if she wants to hit me. __**"Do you want him to know?!"**_

_I can't move, frozen with fear. Lady picks up the pieces of paper and flushes them down toilet. She's so angry her red lips look like the smile of a monster, her eyes so sharp they hurt. Lady leaves for a long time, so long that I start to wonder if she'll ever come back._

* * *

_VII._

_Sometimes Lady brings Him. When he's there Lady is nice, really nice. Lady makes sure to brush my hair extra nice, make sure my dress is extra clean. She tells me to mind my manners, to be good. He is tall, with long dark hair and red eyes. His voice is always low, calm when he speaks to me, but one time I got so scared I peed. Man scares me. That's because man is black and made of shadow. Man is filled with all of the dark in the world, like sleep time when lights go out but worse. Lady was really mad after that, so now she tells me when he's coming so I don't 'embarrass' myself or 'do anything stupid.' I nod and listen to Lady, because I don't want her to get mad at me. I like Lady best when she's nice, when she tells me I'm good. I don't like Lady when she's mean._

_"He's coming today Rin." She tells me as she brushes my hair, smooths my dress harder than usual. "He's coming today to see you so you had better be a good girl." Lady says sharply, as if she wants to be mean again. I nod, my eyes on the floor. I know to be good when he comes._

_He enters then, and I try not to gag, even though it's hard. Man smells weird and old and funny, and I can't explain it. He always makes room cold when he comes, so sometimes I get the shakes and my teeth chatters. But I know I have to be good, I know I better be good. He's worse than Lady that way._

_"Good afternoon Rin." He says in his creepy slimy voice. "I trust you are well?" I nod my head, because I don't know what else to do, my eyes never leaving the floor. But I can feel his smile, and I shake again._

_"That's good to hear Rin. Has Lady Kagura been taking good care of you?" I nod again, because I don't know what else to do. "Good." He murmurs, turning towards Lady again. Out of the corner of my eyes I see Lady frown, as if she wants to say something bad, but Man has eyes that could make anyone quiet._

_"She is in good health." Lady says quickly, as if she can't wait for Man to be gone._

_"And still no words?" Man says, and I can feel his eyes still on me, making me squirm. I want to throw up, or run to tub, but Lady is behind me and I know she won't let me run away._

_"None." She says quickly, as if she knows Man wants to ask something else. "You and I both know the girl hasn't spoken since you brought her here. It's no wonder after all-" Lady starts to say more, but whatever she is about to say stops really fast. I stand really still, and I don't want to look but I can see the shadow of man on floor, and the long slimy thing that slowly goes back up his sleeve. "Mind your manners Kagura." Man says, and I know Lady has been bad like when I'm bad, and being bad means being punished. Bit its different for Lady. When Rin is bad Rin doesn't get food, when Lady is bad she gets hurt. I feel bad for Lady. But Man turns back to me, his shadow squirming on the floor at my feet. _

_"That's fine Rin, you just take your time." Man says,"I'm not in a hurry. I have all the time in the world."_

_Lady didn't tell Man about picture, the picture of man with hair like stars and eyes like sun. I don't know why Lady kept it a secret from Man, since Man knows everything, but I know it won't be good if he finds out. For the first time I'm scared for Lady...and I'm scared for Rin. I close my mouth real tight to stop words from coming out, because I know that's what Man wants. Man wants words, Man wants my secret. But Rin won't tell._

* * *

_VIII._

_If Man is feeling happy when he sees me, I can go on walk outside room, but never outside. Lady walks with me through a long hall with more doors. There are more rooms Lady says, but that does not mean there are more little girls in them. Just me, because I'm special, I'm important. I want to ask Lady why but I don't know if she can tell me, or if she wants too. Lady is always in a bad mood after he comes, and says a lot of things under her breath. I don't think she likes him, but she doesn't tell him that. I don't like him either, so we both agree on that._

_Sometimes when we're outside room we'll see other people, like Boy and ghost. Boy is bigger than me, but still smaller than Lady and Scary man. Boy doesn't always speak, especially when Lady is there. I don't think Boy and Lady like each other very much, but maybe no one does outside room. Boy always seems kind of lost, his eyes far away. They are pretty and purple sometimes, or weird and dark. He kind of seems like he's sleepy or like me when I wake up from dream. Boy walks around quietly through the halls, a strange chain thing rattling in his hand as he walks by. I wish Lady wasn't there so I could talk to Boy, but when she sees him she leads me another way. Even if I can't talk I want to talk to Boy. Boy seems nicer than Lady, even when he looks at me like I'm not there. Ghost is white as my sheets, and Ghost glows. Ghost scares me like Man, because ghost has big black eyes like darkness and shadows. When Lady sees Ghost they always stop to talk over me._

_"Any news today Kanna?" Lady will ask Ghost sometimes, and Ghost always has the quietest, voice. Ghost whispers like silence when she speaks, and sounds older than Lady even though she's not much taller than me._

_"No." Ghost will say, as she fades away into the gloom. "Not yet." I don't know what Lady is asking for, or what Ghost is looking for in the round thing she carries, but I can't help but think it's nothing good. _

* * *

_IX._

_I wake up in tub, not remembering when I feel asleep. My belly is rumbling, which means its time for Lady to come with food, so I leave tub to go check door. Door has a really small opening at the top, but I'm not tall enough to see into it, but sometimes I can see Lady looking in. I wait on the floor away from door like I always do, sitting and holding white dog close to me. The door opens, but its not Lady who walks in but Boy. Boy comes in slowly, as if he's scared, his eyes moving around before they land on me. He stops, the tray still in his hands._

_"Lady Kagura won't be coming." He says, "So I'll be taking care of you for awhile." I stare and stare because I am surprised, only Lady and Scary Man have been inside room, so it's kind of weird for me to see boy here. But I know Boy must be scared because his hand shakes as he brings me breakfast food, putting it down carefully on the floor. I look at it for a long minute, watching as Boy slowly backs away, standing around and looking nervous. I suppose I would be scared of room too if I didn't have to be in it, but I can't remember much before room so I don't know. Sometimes I remember, and sometimes I don't like everything before room was like dreams at sleep time. I crawl to the food, carefully eating my bread and jam as I watch Boy. Boy looks at the floor and not at me, not like Lady who always kind of watches me with her nose wrinkled and funny like she smells something bad. Boy looks kind of sad, so I decide to break my toast in half, standing up and walking over to him. Boy looks up as I get close, his face weird and red as he goes back to looking at the floor. I stand in front of him, handing out the bread, smiling because I like him better than Lady already._

_His face gets red again but he takes it anyway. I stand beside him and we eat quietly. My bread is extra good today._

* * *

_X._

_When Boy comes back he's better. He lifts his eyes from floor and watches me when he thinks I'm not watching. If I catch him I smile, and he gets funny and red again, so its like a game. While we play, Boy tells me his name is Kohaku. Boy says he's like me, except he's not stuck in Room, but that doesn't mean its better. I stare and stare, moving my lips but words won't come. I want to ask Boy what's outside Room, and outside hall with more Rooms. I want to ask Boy why Ghost keeps saying 'not yet', and what Scary Man is waiting for, but I can't. Boy seems to know this, as Boy's eyes gets really sad for a minute._

_"I'm sorry." Boy says quietly, eyes back to the floor. "I wish it didn't have to be you. I wish he had never…" I point at black eye, put my finger on my lips for Boy to be quiet. He looks up too, and his face gets tight for a moment. We both know Scary Man is watching, Scary Man is waiting for me to talk even though I can't. I dunno if I can't or don't want too but I know I'll never talk to Scary Man anyway for as long as I live. Boy sighs at this, and is quiet again for a really long time. Sometimes I remember when I'm supposed to forget, but Lady doesn't want me to tell, because she knows Scary Man is going to do something bad. But I want to tell Boy that I remember him sometimes, from the time before room. _

_But I'm not supposed to know that._

* * *

_AN: I recently read an amazing book called 'The Room' based on a similar premise. Amazing book by the way, it's a hard read emotional wise but its worth it. I do like playing with different mythologies and stories, so I hope you like my short rendition of The Room. I don't think this will be too long._


End file.
